Painted Boxes: Weta. Corner Alderman Drive and Great North Road, Henderson
This colourful traffic control box is situated at the corner of Alderman Drive and Great North Road in Henderson. Its painter (“SK” – Waitakere City’s Community Arts Coordinator Julie Nash tells me he is Sean Kerrigan, and the title is “Weta Cosmology” – thanks Julie!) shows a dramatic version of male weta, a grasshopper-like insect. Occasionally, one of them finds its way into our house, but with their prickly legs, they have a hard time in the fibres of the carpet – then we might find them and show them their proper habitat.
There are quite a range of different weta, and they are essentially harmless creatures. New Zealand’s famous Weta Workshop takes its name from this ferocious looking creature.
Here are a couple of images of the real thing (Auckland tree weta, males with the big face armour):
Auckland Tree Weta
Auckland Tree Weta
Look at Traffic Stopping Boxes in Brisbane.
